The Off Topic Topic

[DGuller]

Things I didn't know I wanted to see today: WWII training film for bomber crews on how to avoid flak fire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGVrWi-_GUI

One thing I never realized until fairly recently is the extent to which computers were already used in the field during WW2.  I knew about Alan Turing's bombes, but I never realized that even back then many types of guns were already firing somewhere because that's where a computer pointed them after doing some calculations.

[Josquius]

I feel like a real wheeler dealer.
Just got £200 for transferring bank account - I first opened a secondary account with my main bank and set up 3 £2 per month charity direct deposits to qualify.
And it worked.
 

[The Brain]

Things I didn't know I wanted to see today: WWII training film for bomber crews on how to avoid flak fire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGVrWi-_GUI

One thing I never realized until fairly recently is the extent to which computers were already used in the field during WW2.  I knew about Alan Turing's bombes, but I never realized that even back then many types of guns were already firing somewhere because that's where a computer pointed them after doing some calculations.

Battleship era firing control computers are cool.

[grumbler]

Battleship era firing control computers are cool.

Indeed, and they came early.  Ford (not that Ford) fire control computers came out in 1917. The British had a complete system (directors, rangefinders, computers, gun laying instructions) by war's end.

[mongers]

Battleship era firing control computers are cool.

Indeed, and they came early.  Ford (not that Ford) fire control computers came out in 1917. The British had a complete system (directors, rangefinders, computers, gun laying instructions) by war's end.

Yes, us digital folk forget there were once analogue computers.

IIRC the last time I was on HMS Belfast, I saw a rather nifty one.

edit:
found a photo of it:

[Josquius]

I do think knowledge of this stuff is slowly starting to build with Ada Lovelace being established as a feminist icon a decade or two back. Fair few baby Adas about.

But then knowledge about how computers work overall has always been lacking. No programming at all was taught when I was in school beyond the turtle, and these days they don't even have that.

[Tamas]

Let's let Fireblade back in, just take away his backroom access. We could use a bit of livenung up here.

[grumbler]

A major kerfuffle is shaping up in the Big Ten. The Big Ten wants to create a new corporation called "Big Ten Enterprises" that will own all the media rights for all of the schools for 20 years, starting next year.  The impetus is that the UC Retirement Fund will pay $2 billion up front for a 10% share of the media revenue. The other 90% will be split between the schools and the Big Ten office itself.

Sixteen of the Eighteen schools want to sign off on that deal, because they need cash now due to having overspent on new stadiums, plus the desire to create a buffer fund to handle the upcoming direct cash payments to athletes.

Michigan and USC refuse to go along, both because they think the deal a bad one, and because they refuse to make a 20-year commitment to an organization that could become obsolete due to the changing nature of college football.

The upshot is that, if UM and USC don't sign on, they will regain their own media rights in 2030, at which point they may well be booted from the conference. For USC, this wouldn't be that much of a culture shock, since they only joined last year.  Michigan, though, is a founding member (1896) of the conference - one of only six that have been members from the start.

Money ruins everything.

[celedhring]

The Big Ten

Sixteen of the Eighteen schools

Admittedly, I don't follow US college sports at all, but The Big Ten are in fact the Big 18? Seems... odd.

[Grey Fox]

Number of teams is fluid, they don't change the names everytime nowadays.

[grumbler]

Admittedly, I don't follow US college sports at all, but The Big Ten are in fact the Big 18? Seems... odd.

It's a trademark now.